Englishtown: Larry Morgan final summary

Morgan advances to second round in E'town

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 20, 2004) - Larry Morgan had the win handed to him in the first round of Pro Stock eliminations today of the K&N Filters Supernationals, when his opponent Ron Krisher fouled out with a -.159 reaction time to Morgan's .103. It was clear Morgan, in the Mopar-backed Dodge Stratus, would have taken the win light in any event, as he crossed the finish line with a 6.801-second elapsed time at 204.23 mph to Krisher's 6.972/203.68.

Morgan then faced Jason Line in the second round. Line, third in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock points, launched first off the line with a .025-second reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Morgan's .052. Line kept the lead to the finish, crossing the stripe in 6.773 seconds at 204.05 mph to Morgan's losing 6.834/203.22.

"In the first round we hurt the motor and didn't realize it," said the Newark, Ohio, resident. "We didn't get a computer readout on it. Had we gotten that we would have noticed that we didn't have any vacuum and that usually indicates that there's a piston out of it. We didn't run all so good. We kind of thought it was the run, so we left it as it was. Well, after I had done my burnout (in the second round) I only had five inches of vacuum. I told Paul (Yates, acting crew chief this weekend while Bob Glidden was absent) on the radio I knew we were wounded.

"We just got caught with our pants down and without the computer that we rely on so much, that's what happened to us.

"We'll be better. It will be good in St. Louis next weekend. I can't wait to be there. We had planned on freshening all the engines before we went to St. Louis. Now we have to, for sure. We can't wait to get there."

Morgan stays fifth in Pro Stock points, with 622.

Next up is the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals in Madison, Ill., June 25-27.

-dsr-